A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
